Welcome to my review of The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak. I absolutely loved this book, it’s one of my all-time favourites, the characters were my favourite part, particularly Max and Hans.
HERE IS A SMALL FACT – YOU ARE GOING TO DIE
1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier.
Liesel, a nine-year-old girl, is living with a foster family on Himmel Street. Her parents have been taken away to a concentration camp. Liesel steals books. This is her story and the story of the inhabitants of her street when the bombs begin to fall.
SOME IMPORTANT INFORMATION – THIS NOVEL IS NARRATED BY DEATH
Markus Zusak is the international bestselling author of six novels, including The Book Thief and most recently, Bridge of Clay. His work is translated into more than forty languages, and has spent more than a decade on the New York Times bestseller list, establishing Zusak as one of the most successful authors to come out of Australia.
All of Zusak’s books – including earlier titles, The Underdog, Fighting Ruben Wolfe, When Dogs Cry (also titled Getting the Girl), The Messenger (or I am the Messenger) – have been awarded numerous honours around the world, ranging from literary prizes to readers choice awards to prizes voted on by booksellers.
In 2013, The Book Thief was made into a major motion picture, and in 2018 was voted one of America’s all-time favourite books, achieving 14th position on the PBS Great American Read. Also in 2018, Bridge of Clay was selected as a best book of the year in publications ranging from Entertainment Weekly to the Wall Street Journal.
Markus Zusak grew up in Sydney, Australia, and still lives there with his wife and two children.
Wow, what can I say about this book? I heard about it on BookTok and bought it straight away and then stared at the cover for a while wondering what it was about and whether I would ever read it. When I started, I wasn’t too impressed. It felt slow to get into and I struggled with it around the first third. It didn’t feel like the book for me, the wrong genre, not very interesting and I wasn’t at all invested.
Well, how things change! I loved this book, and it was one of the best reads this year. I cried numerous times and felt my heart being ripped out at multiple places. The book takes you through the everyday lives of normal, Germans through World War two. It’s not a perspective I have read a lot about previously.
Leisel is taken to a foster family who isn’t your average people of the time, they hold unfavourable views of Jews at the time, though despite being hardworking they also have very little money, living in a very poor part of the country in a rough street.
The book is told from the perspective of Death, which is intriguing. The plot jumps around a little which can be confusing at first, but you soon get used to it. While he is exceptionally busy during the war, he is so fascinated by Leisel, the book thief, he can’t help but watch her every time he is in the area and see how she is doing. These humans haunt him.
I have never read a book with such strong characters, I fell totally in love with some of them, particularly Hans and Max. the relationships in the book are the most beautiful, many tears were shed especially during and at the end. The way Hans takes in Leisel and becomes her truly loving father shows his immense character but the way he also takes in Max and hides him as payback for his father’s death also shows this.
Max teaches Leisel so many things, amongst them, love, and compassion. He is like her big brother. The books he makes for her are so special and beautifully described.
While I loved Max, Leisel and Rudy (Leisel’s best friend) Hans was my favourite character.
This was one of the most impactful books I have ever read, and it will stay with me for a long time. It is beautifully written with some great phrases. The relationships make the book but the setting, the care, the love shown despite diversity is astounding.
| Title | The Book Thief |
| Author | Markus Zusak |
| Series | N/A |
| Format | Kindle |
| Page Count | 499 Pages |
| Genre | Historical Fiction |
| Publisher | Transworld Digital |
| Release Date | 8th March 2016 |
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